Often Irreverent, Mostly Rational Blog for Fans of the Toronto Blue Jays. One Day, We'll Be Perfect.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Jays seed the clouds with home run balls

Yeah yeah yeah, we know. We shouldn't get too excited over beating up on a bunch of minor league arms in Boston.

(And on that note: Were we the only ones who were relieved that this Michael Bowden cat is still in Boston's system and wasn't part of a Halladay trade? Seriously, all those internet based scouting analysts really don't know nuthin' 'bout nuthin' in the end, do they?)

But come on. Isn't it a stitch to watch Aaron Hill and José Bautista and Rod Barajas send dingers into Boston's night time skyline? Why must people try to ruin this for us?

Praise the rainThankfully for Jays fans, the rains came pouring down exactly at the point where Casey Janssen had begun to hand the game back to the Red Sox. Watching Janssen walk two and give up a double to that little rat-faced elf Dustin Pedroia, we could feel a big BoSox turnaround coming on like a freight train (even with the six-run lead.)

Given Cito's dubious handling of the bullpen, we could have seen him leaving Janssen in to burnish his .940 OPS against. Yikes.

Everybody loves Janssen because he's plucky as all get out, but dude needs to be far away from the Jays' pitching staff next season if they are going to have a shot at...well...nevermind.

I was getting sick of 'When Janssen comes back we'll be all right.' No. Just, No. He has nifty stuff, but zero idea of when to throw it. He needs for GM-to-be-named-later to sit him down at the end of the season and tell him he is spending next year in Vegas with no consideration for promotion until 2011, even if everyone on the depth chart have their arms fall off. No Show For You! Come Back One Year!

While Bowden won't be a future frontline starter, and probably won't be a part of the future Boston rotation, he's a serviceable arm. I imagine he'd be a #3 to #5 starter for a lot of teams right now. He doesn't have electric stuff, but he has pitched decently in the minors, and it's not like he's doing it with an 85-mph fastball.

I liked Janssen because he was good out of the bullpen in '07. I remembered that he was decidedly mediocre as a starter in '06 and wondered why he was handed a rotation spot when he was healthy this season.